Down Under, You Said to Me
by Est. 98
Summary: Shepard Trent is a surfing bum, He is also an ex-Vesper, a son, a friend, and an uncle. Or: ten moments from the uneventful life of Shep.


9.

Shep hoped that Amy and Dan and that crazy au pair of theirs made it to Indonesia alright. He hoped that they were safe and dry and would hopefully remember him, because he would always remember them.

He should have been a better uncle, and not just a stupid surfing bum.

He should have made contact with his cousins/niece/nephew. Maybe he should have fought for custody. Taken them far away from the clue hunt. He should have done that, to try and keep them safe. But no. He didn't. And now his cousins/niece/nephew were in mortal danger, and he chickened out in telling them he was in the club too. The club reserved for clue hunters and familial backstabbers. Now they were an ocean away, and chasing the fiery trail left by the clue hunt.

A dormant Vesper, that man had called him. That man, a strange man in a suit with a business card and blue eyes and curly brown hair. He'd house-called and tried to get him to join. But Shep refused on Artie's soul.

The news was on. A house caught on fire in Indonesia. A Russian woman was killed. An old Korean man and two children- one with red hair and another with blond hair were accused of murder.

Shep thought: _Fucking hell._

**2.**

Arthur sailed down the ramp. At the last moment, he jumped off his bike and landed in the grass. His bike crashed onto the patio. Shep winced.

Arthur groaned. He said, "I thought we got it right that time."

Shep nodded. The "Trent Course of Awesomeness" was almost complete. They just needed to get the last ramp right. If they got it right, they would land directly on the footpath that led to the pool, bike and all.

Arthur signalled for Shep to come and shift the boxes under the ramp surface.

Shep suggested, "Maybe we should make the top more elevated. I think it's too flat."

Arthur nodded and added, "I think we should start faster. I think we were too slow going down the slope." Together they adjusted the ramp and the boxes and prepped up Shep's bike.

Arthur asked, "Are you sure you want to go first?"

Shep answered, "Duh."

Shep sailed down the ramp at what seemed to be the speed of light. His bike wobbled through the air, higher than Arthur had gone. Somehow, after what seemed like years of flying through the air, he landed on the footpath. Then he fell into the pool.

Shep thought afterwards: _Beat that, Arthur._

**6.**

Many years later, Arthur was found burned with his wife Hope in their home in Boston. His two children were saved. There was a fire.

Shep felt like his heart had imploded into a humongous crater and taken everything with it. Artie had died and Hope had died and he wasn't able to be there for them. And yet he knew what happened.

It was the 39 clues. They'd claimed two more victims. Two more were gone for dreams that would never be fulfilled. And he knew because they'd gone to him earlier. Gotten him to fly them over half of Aussie-land. To where he knew there had been clue hunting activity. They'd followed Amelia Earhart's journey.

He'd brought them to their death.

He never went to the funeral. He'd killed them. He was a murderer. Their murderer.

And he mourned for their children too. His cousins/niece/nephew. They were young, but one day they would probably follow their parent's footsteps. They'd step up their game and follow Earhart and probably beg him to fly them over the land down under. And they'd probably get into danger and probably break his heart along the way.

Yet he'd wait for them to find him. And he did.

**3.**

Mom had said, "You'll love Hawaii. It's a very beautiful place, darling. I know you love the beach- Hawaii is made up of beautiful beaches. Please understand, honey. I can't go back to Seattle. Me and your dad… it really didn't work. That's why we divorced. I couldn't keep fighting with him."

So they'd packed up and left Seattle. Left dad and their home and their dog Jagger and left Artie.

On the plane, Shep though: _this is shit. This is serious shit. I want to go back home and play with Artie and Jag and be a daredevil. This is utter shit. I miss dad. I want to go home. Why can't I go home?_

Then they'd landed at the airport and taken a taxi to their new home in Oahu. It was on the beach. And then he saw it.

It was so blue. He'd never seen that much blue before. It was incredible. It was beautiful- nothing like Seattle. Seattle was gray and brown; Oahu was blue and green. And there were tourists, and sun tanners, and swimmers, and surfers, and shops full of surfing gear. He looked at mom.

Mom smiled and said, "I'll rent a board for you."

Shepard Trent was twelve years old when he fell in love with the ocean.

**8.**

There was also a time when he thought he was in love with a woman as well. Her name was Daphne. She was a foreign graduate student from Luxembourg.

They met in a bar. One of his surfing buddies had brought her with them. She had bright green hair (dyed) and contacts that shone orange (fake) and a plethora of tattoos (hearts, r.o.y.g.b.i.v, puppies, skulls). Shep thought that Daphne was spontaneous in everything she did. He bought her a drink and she sat beside him. While his friends chatted, he and Daphne giggled about the ocean and the surf.

Afterwards, he invited her over to his house. At first they talked and danced and giggled like children. Then they kissed. And the next thing they knew, they were in a relationship. They had sex. But then she left Australia and returned back home. He never found out why.

Her last words to Shep were: "I'm very sorry. I must leave."

Shep argued in a frayed voice, "But I love you! Please, you can't leave."

Afterwards, he realised she really had left. He remembered the short time they had together. They'd only known each other for a year, but he knew that he loved her, and that was all that mattered.

He'd muttered, "Bye, then."

To think he'd bought a ring for her.

**5.**

It was beautiful wedding. Hope looked very nice, with her red hair piled up in an elegant bun. Artie was wearing a suit- something that they'd joked many years ago about. He thought that he would never see the day. And he was wearing one too. He hoped that Artie didn't mind that it had a picture of a dolphin on it.

Later, Artie said, "I like the dolphin. You marrying one anytime soon?"

Shep replied, "Maybe. I'd have to check to see if the guests will be okay with an underwater reception."

The reception was nice, and the after-party was, well, hot. The music was great. So were the ladies. Shep had danced with a pretty blonde. Her name was Mary-Todd. She was from Wisconsin.

Oh yes, Shep loved the party. But Shep actually loved the cake the best. It was white and silvery, and full of sweet paste and towered over the bride and groom.

Shep thought: here comes the bride, and dressed in white. Here comes the groom- skinny as a broom. Not that Artie was skinny. He was tall and thin, but not skinny. Shep was the skinny shrimpy one.

Shep also though: _I'd rather like some shrimp right now._

**4.**

Mom's last words were these: "When did I get so old?"

She had AIDS and pneumonia. She was lying on her bed in the retirement home, staring at the sky. Shep knew that her time was nearly over. His mother was elderly and frail, and had already accepted her fate. The homes nurse had left him with her to witness her final moments.

Shep whispered, "Goodbye Mom." She smiled a crinkly-eyed smile and squeezed his hand. Then she turned over and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply, in and out, and slowly sank into eternal sleep. Shep got up and left the retirement home. He didn't want to stay any longer at the place where his mother died.

Outside, it was beautiful. It was a typical Sydney day. It was heavenly.

There was a man waiting for him. He had on a suit and curly hair and blue eyes. A business card was in his breast pocket. There was a red V on the card. Shep knew what he was here for.

Shep said harshly, "Not on Arthur Trent's soul."

He turned around and marched over to the beach. His friends were there. The ocean was there. The ocean, he knew, would calm him. It had never left him down before.

**7.**

When he first saw the Australian beaches, he knew he was in trouble.

They were much nicer than the beaches in Oahu. There weren't as many people there- not as many tourists. And there were a lot of surfers. People like him. He would own this place. Just like in Oahu.

A few people with tanned skin and warm smiles came up to him. They were all young adults.

One person said, "Wicked board."

Another said, "Wanna join us? You look like a newbie here."

Shep answered, "Sure."

He got to know their names. They were Jack and Hussein and Anthony and Cherry and Ivanovich. They were part of a surfing club. It turned out that they'd found him on purpose. Since he'd cut himself off from the Vs. Also because he knew Arthur Trent. They were also ex- Vs. They'd left after another friend of theirs had died in a burning shack in Peru. They were freedom fighters in bathing suits and suntan lotion.

Hussein would say, "They're just a bunch of bulls. Why should we help them? Better ride the waves out here than die in a burning home, that's what I say. Don't waste your time on shit."

Shep couldn't help but agree.

**10.**

Someone knocked at the door. Shep didn't have the patience to deal with them. He never did, not anymore. Why should he?

They continued knocking, as if the entire fate of the universe depended on it. As if the weight of all time was on his shoulders. He felt like he was Billy Pilgrim with all his mumbo-jumbo Trafalmadorian crap. Crap from intergalactic space. Shit.

But they just kept knocking. He wanted to scream. Couldn't a man get any privacy?

Apparently not.

So he went up to the door, and opened it, fully prepared to slam it at the knocker. But he froze. Outside was a man in a suit, with a business card in his breast pocket. All he could make out of the card was a red V. The man looked at him expectantly with blue eyes. Blue eyes and a head full of curly brown hair.

It was him.

Shep said icily, "What do you want?"

The man replied, "You know what we want."

And Shep did. So he did what felt reasonable and to be the safest option. Looking directly at the man, he glared, spun around, and promptly slammed the door in the man's face. And he never looked back.

**1.**

A family was moving into the house next door. A family with a boy about Shep's age. Naturally, when mommy and daddy had their backs turned, Shep snuck out and wandered over to the hedge, even though they'd told him not to. He could see the new neighbours through it. The new boy was carrying a stuffed bear. He had dark hair and dark eyes.

His parents were yelling at the movers about something. The new boy looked troubled, but then caught sight of Shep and grinned. Shep was confused. Did he know the boy?

The boy walked up to the hedge and spoke through the hole.

He said, "Hi! I've seen you before. Mommy and daddy showed me a picture of you. You're my cousin Shepard, right? They said you lived next door."

Cousin? Mommy and daddy never mentioned anything about a cousin moving in. And they didn't even look alike! Shep had golden hair and blue eyes that looked like the ocean. They couldn't be cousins. They were too different.

Still, it would be rude not to answer to the new boy, so Shep said, "Yes, I'm Shepard. Call me Shep. What's your name?"

The new boy answered, "Arthur. Call me Arthur."


End file.
